Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Vulnerable | A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2014 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 6,100,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 51,000,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 527000-7600000,650000 mature individuals | poor | estimated | 2020 |
| Population trend | decreasing | - | estimated | 2015-2028 |
| Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 26-49% | - | - | - |
| Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 0-49% | - | - | - |
| Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 26-49% | - | - | - |
| Generation length | 4.21 years | - | - | - |
| Number of subpopulations | 1 | - | - | - |
| Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation | 100% | - | - | - |
Population justification: The global population is estimated to be at 650,000 mature individuals (Andres et al. 2012), though a modelling approach suggested 7.6 million mature individuals in Canada alone (BAM 2020). However, COSEWIC (2020) consider this likely overestimates true density because of birds approaching observers during point counts. But it is conceded that densities in the favoured habitat of 5.6 per square kilometre are similar to the 2-3 pairs per square kilometre generated by territory mapping surveys (Cooper 2004, COSEWIC 2020). The species is not covered by the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) surveys as it breeds further south, but the observation that these systematic surveys typically increased estimates significantly does suggest the current population size may be conservative.
Earlier estimates were substantially lower: Morrison et al. (2006) give a population estimate of 400,000 birds, with a range of 300,000–500,000.
Trend justification: Lesser Yellowlegs is estimated to have undergone a population reduction of between 26-49% over the past three generations, a rate projected to continue to one generation in the future (to 2028), but given the high uncertainty in the various data sources it is not considered appropriate to project further. Given the continuing threats an uncertain but potentially rapid rate of reduction is suspected over the next three generations into the future, hence this rate is placed in a wide band of 0-49%.
Analysis of migration count data estimates a rapid to very rapid reduction over the past three generations of 36% to 76%, with a mean reduction of 61% (Smith et al. 2023). This data is also used for the trend in Partners in Flight (2023). Surveys of southbound migrants are thought to be the most representative data for deriving trends (ECCC 2019) and the network of sites covers the migration route of the eastern breeding range, but Alaskan breeding birds may not be well-covered due to the eastern bias of the sites included (Smith et al. 2023).
Other data also indicates declines, but not at such severe rates. Trends modelled from eBird data estimate a moderately rapid reduction of between 14 and 23% over three generation (Fink et al. 2023). The species is covered by the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) but there are few routes in the main breeding areas (COSEWIC 2020). The most recent BBS trend estimates are of a 26% reduction over the 12 years between 2010 and 2022 (Ziolkowski, Jr et al. 2022), equal to the three-generation reduction after rounding. This is a notably accelerating rate, with the longer-term reduction over 2000-2022 equivalent to 19% over three generations (Ziolkowski, Jr et al. 2022), however the past two years' data have partly stabilised the trend. Earlier BBS data suggested a previous rapid reduction in North America over the 40 years of data from 1966 (-94.9% over 40 years, equating to -52.6% per decade; Butcher and Niven 2007), but it was thought that these data did not represent the true trend given the small percentage of the breeding range covered (G. Donaldson in litt. 2012): the re-analysis of BBS data suggests this caution was appropriate.
Non-breeding data are patchy, but several surveys also indicate declines (COSEWIC 2020). In Suriname a rapid reduction in numbers counted at one site between 2002 and 2008 suggested an 80% reduction (Ottema and Ramcharan 2009). However it has subsequently become clear that local habitat degradation due to the loss of mangroves had caused the site to become unsuitable for the species: restoration work has seen numbers rebound to exceed those counted in 2002 (Lesterhuis 2021). Repeats between 2008-2011 of aerial surveys of Suriname, French Guiana and Guyana carried out in the 1980s did indicate a decline across this whole area (Morrison et al. 2012). Morrison and Ross’s (1989) observations from the mid-1980s that more than 70% of T. flavipes and Greater Yellowlegs T. melanoleuca wintering on the South American coast do so in Suriname suggesting declines here could have severe consequences for the global population (Clay et al. 2012). However, a large and potentially increasing number winter inland in South America (being abundant in the Pantanal [A.P. Nunes in litt. 2024] and present throughout inland wetland areas, including high altitude sites [eBird 2024]), and shifts in non-breeding distribution over time could account for a proportion of missing individuals. The most recent estimate for the combined wintering populations of T. flavipes and T. melanoleuca along the coast of north-eastern South America is 8,000, based on multiple aerial surveys (Suriname: 2008, 2011, 2014; French Guiana: 2008, 2014; Brazil: 2011, 2014), which is a substantial decline from numbers reported in 2002/03 (D. Mizrahi in litt. 2014). Despite this, numbers in French Guiana appear to have been mostly stable at 5,000-6,000 individuals (D. Mizrahi in litt. 2014), suggesting there genuinely had been a large reduction in Suriname, during a period when hunting levels were very high (AFSI 2020). Hunting has also been documented at high levels in Guyana, although deteriorating habitat suitability has also been noted (Andres et al. 2022). At the southern end of the non-breeding range on the Atlantic coast from southern Brazil to Argentina numbers estimated using Bayesian models from simultaneous counts in 2019, 18,384 (95% CI; 11,849 to 29,665) (Faria et al. in press) are considerably higher than the 6,103 for both yellowlegs counted for the same area via aerial survey in the 1980s (Morrison and Ross 1989), suggesting either that numbers here have increased (potentially due to redistribution) or that numbers were previously underestimated. While most of the population is not covered by the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) sites, there are sufficient data to generate an uncertain trend from CBC data equivalent to -25% (-53% to +16%) over three generations (Meehan et al. 2022).
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguilla (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Antigua and Barbuda | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Argentina | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Aruba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Australia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Austria | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Bahamas | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Barbados | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Belgium | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Belize | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Bermuda (to UK) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bolivia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Brazil | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Canada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Cayman Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Chile | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Colombia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Costa Rica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Cuba | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Curaçao (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Denmark | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Dominica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Dominican Republic | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Ecuador | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| El Salvador | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Finland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| France | extant | vagrant | ||||
| French Guiana | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Gambia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Germany | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Ghana | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Greece | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Grenada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Guadeloupe (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Guatemala | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Guyana | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Haiti | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Honduras | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Hong Kong (China) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Hungary | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Iceland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Indonesia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Ireland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Israel | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Italy | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Jamaica | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Japan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Marshall Islands | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Martinique (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Mexico | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Montserrat (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Morocco | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Netherlands | extant | vagrant | ||||
| New Zealand | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Nicaragua | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Nigeria | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Norway | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Panama | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Paraguay | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Peru | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Poland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Portugal | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Puerto Rico (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Slovenia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| South Africa | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Spain | extant | vagrant | ||||
| St Barthelemy (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Kitts and Nevis | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Lucia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Martin (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Suriname | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Sweden | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Trinidad and Tobago | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| United Kingdom | extant | vagrant | ||||
| United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Uruguay | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| USA | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
| Venezuela | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Zambia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Zimbabwe | extant | vagrant |
| Country/Territory | IBA Name |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Reserva de Uso Múltiple Bañados del Río Dulce y Laguna Mar Chiquita |
| Barbados | St Lucy Shooting Swamps |
| Barbados | St Philip Shooting Swamps |
| Canada | Sounding Lake |
| Cuba | Delta del Cauto |
| Cuba | Humedal Sur de Sancti Spiritus |
| French Guiana | Amana |
| French Guiana | Ile de Cayenne |
| French Guiana | Littoral |
| French Guiana | Littoral Kourou |
| French Guiana | Littoral Macouria |
| French Guiana | Littoral Sinnamary |
| French Guiana | Plaine Kaw et Pointe Béhague |
| Guyana | Guyana East Coast |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Grand Turk Salinas and Shores |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | North, Middle and East Caicos Ramsar Site |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Salt Exploitation Sites | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Freshwater Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Boreal | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Alpine Wetlands (includes temporary waters from snowmelt) | suitable | passage |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Inland Deltas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes and Flats | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt) | suitable | breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 4500 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Intentional use: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Rapid Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases - Vulpes vulpes | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lesser-yellowlegs-tringa-flavipes on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.